


Some Sort of Birdsong

by Liara_90



Category: RWBY
Genre: Canon Compliant, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Drinking, F/F, Falling In Love, Inspired by Music, Karaoke, One Shot, POV Third Person, Pre-Canon, Prompt Fic, Romance, Song Lyrics, Tumblr Prompt, Wordcount: 1.000-5.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-09-06 19:36:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16839043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liara_90/pseuds/Liara_90
Summary: Team STRQ returns to town following a successful, if overly-long, mission. The gang searches for food and rest before the trip back to Beacon.A fic written for the following prompts: (10)The taste of Vodka at the back of your throat(47)Singing badly as loud as you can(59)Orange sunsets





	Some Sort of Birdsong

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Silmerion](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silmerion/gifts).



> I didn’t initially plan to cross-post this on AO3, but who knows how much longer Tumblr will be around, and I suppose the fic got enough notes to merit a repost. This is one of my few STRQ-centric fics that doesn’t exist in the “[A Home of Sticks](https://archiveofourown.org/series/959265)” continuity, though if you squint it kinda could. Thank you again to [Silmerion](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silmerion/pseuds/Silmerion) for the wonderful prompt. You should definitely check out [his _RWBY_ works](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silmerion/pseuds/Silmerion/works?fandom_id=767851).
> 
> This work can be viewed on Tumblr [here](http://pvoberstein.tumblr.com/post/179492054733/10-47-or-59-with-strq), and is backed-up via the Internet Archive [here](https://web.archive.org/web/20181204020924/http://pvoberstein.tumblr.com/post/179492054733/10-47-or-59-with-strq). It was originally posted on October 27, 2018.

* * *

“We are _never_ taking another mission from Professor Peach,” groused Taiyang, as he pounded a few buttons on an uplink terminal for the CCT, sending word back to Beacon that their mission had been a success. Not, admittedly, that it _felt_ like one. “Seriously, I’m going to be sore for like a _month_ from that.”

“I didn’t realize Raven was feeling kinky last night,” Qrow jibed, earning him a smack upside the head from his sister. Neither of their hearts were in the bickering, though, both Branwens too exhausted to do more than go through the motions of squabbling. 

Summer sighed. “I know we should be trying to get some rest,” she began, “but I think I’m still too wired to sleep right now.”

Taiyang nodded, still staring at the terminal he was tapping commands into. “Yeah. And it’s, like, three in the afternoon.” He was sorely tempted to just find a park bench and collapse onto it, but if he powered through for a few more hours he might actually salvage his sleep schedule.

“Food?” Qrow suggested, sliding his hands into his pockets.

“I could eat,” Tai concurred, paired with assenting nods from Summer and Raven. “Anything nearby, Summer?”

Summer already had her Scroll out, flicking through a list of dining suggestions she’d had the sense to download before they’d left Beacon. STRQ rarely had time to take in the sites of whichever rural town they were dispatched to, but every so often they were lucky enough to squeeze in a trip to a ruined castle or local tavern.

Summer frowned. “Well…” she thumbed her Scroll, “we’re kind of on the wrong end of the city to find the popular tourist spots.” Unsurprisingly, most municipalities tried to keep the local Huntsmen offices as close to the city limits as possible. Both to better respond to the Grimm and isolate the noise of their training. “Looks like the only thing within walking distance is a 24-hour karaoke bar.”

Tai let out a defeated sigh. “I _really_ don’t feel like karaoke right now,” he groaned, logging off of the terminal.

“We can just get food there,” Raven replied. She found the idea of karaoke even less attractive than Tai did, but after a week of field rations she’d kill for anything cooked.

Summer nodded, closing her Scroll. “That sounds fine,” she agreed. “We can just grab a quick bite before the airship arrives.”

* * *

“ _Summer_!” Tai shouted, yelling her name like she was lost in a forest. “Summer, Summer, Summer, _Sum-mer_!” He stopped shouting only because Qrow began trying to squeeze him into a headlock. “Take your shot!”

Summer’s head whipped back and forth between the rest of STRQ - collectively sprawled across a couch in Karaoke Room #3 - and the television screen, where the lyrics to her track were just beginning to roll. With the judgement befitting a team leader she darted back to the couch, before which a tray of shot glasses was resting on a low table. 

Graceful fingers curled around one of the glasses, raising it high in the air. “To the finest Team of Huntsmen in Vale!” Summer declared, pounding back her shot. It burned in the back of her throat, a caustic palette cleanser for the week’s unpleasantness. 

Raven, Tai, and Qrow followed suit, slamming down their glasses with various degrees of melodrama. Raven, unsurprisingly, showed no reaction to the shot at all, while Qrow and Tai both winced at the vodka’s bite.

“Ow, gross, Raven, what is this crap?” Tai demanded, blinking back tears.

Raven rolled her eyes. “ _I’m sorry_ , Tai, do you want to get a chocolate milk instead?”

“Actually, I’m with Tai on this one,” piped in Qrow, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “It’s like… Grimm piss and sadness.”

Summer reappeared in front of the television, a trail of rose petals in her wake, as the lyrics continued flashing across the screen. Tai and Raven resumed bickering about their respective tastes in ethanol, while Qrow returned to his bottle. The stress and anxiety of the past week bled out of them through teases and taunts, the soundproof karaoke room providing a sanctuary to unwind, to cut loose.

Raven was halfway through her mockery of the Patch Island Pilsner when her brother slapped her on the arm, refocusing her attention to center stage. Where one Summer Rose was halfway through her cover of some Top 40 hit Raven distantly recognized. 

_Oh and if your heart would just agree_  
_Then I know and I know that I could be_  
_Oh I could believe_  
_You’re all that I ever need_

Maybe it was residual adrenaline from the field, or her metabolism making short work of shot, but Summer was really giving it her all, Raven thought. Or, perhaps, those were just the excuses she needed.

_What am I supposed to do  
Just sit here and not fall in love with you?_

Summer twirled softly as she sung, the microphone cable trailing behind her as she moved. Tai and Qrow had both shut up, too, giving the Team Leader their undivided attention. 

_Can I do anything to conceal it?  
Can I lock up my heart and not feel it?_

Summer fell dramatically to her knees before the couch, in a passable imitation of a pop singer’s motions. 

_Try to hide from the fact_  
_That there’s no turning back_  
_I’m in love_

Raven belatedly realized just at whom exactly those silver eyes were looking at. It should have been obvious, because it was _her_. 

Whatever Summer was about to sing next, though, it was lost, because the karaoke machine violently returned to its main menu, flashing an angry TIME EXPIRED message across the screen and soliciting additional lien.

“Oh that sucks,” grumbled Tai, glaring angrily at the television. He took another swig of his beer, then fumbled for his Scroll.

Summer and Raven stared at one another for several seconds, before a sheepish blush colored Summer’s pale visage. Summer awkwardly pulled herself to her feet, disentangling her ankle from where the microphone cord had ensnared it. Raven tried to steady whatever was quivering in her chest.

“Well, I don’t feel like signing over my _second_ unborn son,” Tai groused, double-checking the rates for the room. “You guys wanna head out?”

“…Sure,” answered Raven, her eyes not drifting from Summer Rose.

They made their way out to the parking lot, Tai and Qrow both wincing at the resplendent orange sunset beating down upon them.

“Fuck, how is the sun _just_ setting?” Qrow grumbled rhetorically, shading his eyes with his hand.

“Probably because we started drinking at like four in the afternoon,” Taiyang answered, stretching his arms overhead.

Summer’s hand rested against Raven’s gauntlet, cuing the latter to slow up. The women allowed Tai and Qrow to get a half-dozen paces in front of them, Summer sliding close to her teammate.

“It’s a beautiful sunset, isn’t it?” Summer asked, in that perfectly sincere tone that only she could manage. Her voice sounded a little raw, exhausted by their antics in the karaoke lounge. 

Raven stared out at the setting star, just beginning to dip below the horizon. She wasn’t normally one to be so tritely romantic, but-

“- Yeah, it’s pretty… gorgeous,” she agreed, the adjective feeling unnatural on her tongue. Summer giggled a little and slid even closer, her arm properly entwined with Raven’s. “But it’s not the most…” 

“…Most… _what_?” Summer asked, tilting her head up to peer into Raven’s crimson eyes. 

The kiss came easily, their mouths meeting like practiced lovers.

“The most gorgeous thing here,” Raven finished with a wry grin, claiming another kiss. 

It felt perfectly natural on her tongue that time.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for your readership! Please feel free to leave any comments, thoughts, feedback, or headcanons in the comments. Criticism is the only way I’ll ever get better as a writer. If you’d like to know more about me/my writing, feel free to hit up my [About](http://www.pvoberstein.tumblr.com/about) page. I’m also active on both [reddit](https://www.reddit.com/user/pvoberstein/overview) and [Tumblr](http://www.pvoberstein.tumblr.com/), and can be reached through any of the means on my [Contact](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liara_90/profile) page.


End file.
